Santa Giusta Cathedral is the former cathedral

Cathedral

A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...

 of the abolished Diocese of Santa Giusta, in Santa Giusta

Santa Giusta

Santa Giusta is a comune in the Province of Oristano in the Italian region of Sardinia, located about 90 km northwest of Cagliari and about 3 km southeast of Oristano in the Campidano area...

, province of Oristano

Province of Oristano

Oristano is a province in the autonomous island region of Sardinia in Italy. Its capital is the city of Oristano.It has an area of 3,040 km², and a total population of 167,971 . There are 88 municipalities in the province ). As of June 2005, the main communes by population are:-Politics:-External...

, Sardinia

Sardinia

Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

. It is now a minor basilica

Minor basilica

Minor basilica is a title given to some Roman Catholic churches. By canon law no Catholic church can be honoured with the title of basilica unless by apostolic grant or from immemorial custom....

. The dedication is to Saint Justa of Cagliari who, according to the tradition, was martyred here at the time of the Roman emperor Diocletian

Diocletian

Diocletian |latinized]] upon his accession to Diocletian . c. 22 December 244  – 3 December 311), was a Roman Emperor from 284 to 305....

, with her companions Saints Justina and Aenidina. Almost entirely built in sandstone

Sandstone

Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...

, it is considered one of the most important examples of Sardinian Romanesque architecture

Romanesque architecture

Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...

.

History

The cathedral was erected in the early 12th century by local and Pisa

Pisa

Pisa is a city in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the River Arno on the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa...

n workers, the latter with experience from Pisa Cathedral. Some art historian have supposed that another church existed on the site before, but this has not been definitely proven.

In the 16th-17th centuries the right wall was demolished to allow creation of two chapels. In 1503 the Diocese of Santa Giusta was abolished and annexed to that of Oristano. In 1847 a marble enclosure was built to encircle the presbytery

Presbytery (architecture)

The presbytery is the name for an area in a church building which is reserved for the clergy.In the oldest church it is separated by short walls, by small columns and pilasters in the Renaissance ones; it can also be raised, being reachable by a few steps, usually with railings....

, while a pulpit

Pulpit

Pulpit is a speakers' stand in a church. In many Christian churches, there are two speakers' stands at the front of the church. Typically, the one on the left is called the pulpit...

 was added in 1876. In 1860 the former sail-shaped bell tower collapsed, and was replaced by a square bell tower in neo-Romanesque style, finished in 1906.

Overview

The basilica has a façade in undecorated sandstone, with three bays

Bay (architecture)

A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...

 corresponding to the interior's nave and two aisles. The central one has the main portal, surmounted by a triple mullioned window. The façade is topped by a tympanum

Tympanum (architecture)

In architecture, a tympanum is the semi-circular or triangular decorative wall surface over an entrance, bounded by a lintel and arch. It often contains sculpture or other imagery or ornaments. Most architectural styles include this element....

 also divided into three parts, the central one characterized by a lozenge

Lozenge

A lozenge , often referred to as a diamond, is a form of rhombus. The definition of lozenge is not strictly fixed, and it is sometimes used simply as a synonym for rhombus. Most often, though, lozenge refers to a thin rhombus—a rhombus with acute angles of 45°...

. Near the pilasters flanking the portal are two old columns, whence it has been hypothesized that the church once had a portico or similar structure.

The side walls are divided into blind arches with Lombard bands, but have few decorations otherwise. More numerous are the features of the apse

Apse

In architecture, the apse is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome...

, with semi-columns supported by plinth

Plinth

In architecture, a plinth is the base or platform upon which a column, pedestal, statue, monument or structure rests. Gottfried Semper's The Four Elements of Architecture posited that the plinth, the hearth, the roof, and the wall make up all of architectural theory. The plinth usually rests...

s and ending in leaf-shaped capitals, Lombard bands and six single-smullioned windows (the three lower ones lighting the church's crypt

Crypt

In architecture, a crypt is a stone chamber or vault beneath the floor of a burial vault possibly containing sarcophagi, coffins or relics....

).

In the interior the aisles and the nave are divided by seven columns with arcades, made of material from ancient settlements of the area. The aisles are covered by groin vault

Groin vault

A groin vault or groined vault is produced by the intersection at right angles of two barrel vaults. The word groin refers to the edge between the intersecting vaults; cf. ribbed vault. Sometimes the arches of groin vaults are pointed instead of round...

s, while the nave has truss

Truss

In architecture and structural engineering, a truss is a structure comprising one or more triangular units constructed with straight members whose ends are connected at joints referred to as nodes. External forces and reactions to those forces are considered to act only at the nodes and result in...

es. The columns in the crypt are original.